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The doctoral degree program with a major in international studies is specifically designed to prepare students for academic and top-level public service careers. Admission is based on an evaluation of the applicant’s potential for successful graduate work. It is expected that applicants to the international studies doctoral program will demonstrate a strong potential for advanced scholarly study. Admission will be based on a holistic evaluation of the candidate’s complete academic background including grades, test scores, past research accomplishments, and the evaluations contained in letters of reference. The admission decision depends in part on the qualifications of the total pool of applicants. There are no formal minimums since strength in one area may offset relative weakness in some other area. However, the admissions committee uses the following indicators as rough benchmarks of the probability of success in the graduate program: scores of at least 600 verbal, 600 quantitative, and 4.5 analytical on the three sections of the GRE, an undergraduate GPA of 3.50 or above, and a TOEFL score of 620 (if applicable) or a comparable score on the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam.

The admission deadlines for international studies are:

• January 15: fall admission with departmental financial support;
• June 1: fall admission.

Degree Requirements

Students in the international studies doctoral program pursue a coherent course of study that will normally include a minimum of 72 semester hours, including 12 hours of dissertation credit. All students must complete 15 hours of required core courses. Each student will complete 21 hours of graduate course work divided among four fields: international relations theory and practice, international law and organization, foreign policy and analysis, and comparative politics/area studies. Students are also required to complete 12 hours of graduate course work from other, related disciplines, in order to obtain a solid interdisciplinary focus in their fields of study. In addition, all students in the international studies Ph.D. program must take a minimum of four elective courses (12 credit hours) to round out their graduate work. Advanced language or advanced statistics courses can be used to fulfill these elective requirements.

A qualifying examination must be taken for formal admission to candidacy into the Ph.D. program in international studies. This exam should be taken at the beginning of the fourth semester in the program, or after the completion of 24-27 credit hours. During the course of their studies, students must also demonstrate appropriate foreign language and methodological skills for conducting research in the respective fields of inquiry. Upon the completion of all course work, students must pass a comprehensive examination, and successfully defend a dissertation prospectus. The final phase of the doctoral program is the development, writing, and public defense of a dissertation, which is expected to represent a substantial contribution to knowledge within the broad area of international studies.